


Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

by ByTheSea19



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Family, First Christmas, One Shot
Language: Español
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27846010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByTheSea19/pseuds/ByTheSea19
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, the Murillo women have only been in Palawan for a few weeks, their first Christmas in that new home.Raquel forgot the Christmas tree and the gifts. Paula is sad that Santa Claus may not be able to find their new home without a tree where to put her letter.But as usual, Sergio always thinks down to the smallest detail...Christmas one shot
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Comments: 16
Kudos: 40





	Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

**Author's Note:**

> December always calls for a Christmas fic!! 🥰🎄❤️
> 
> It's a little something I came up with, I hope you like it and let me know what you think!!
> 
> Also, I've decided to continue with my other fic "My Love, My Life", it will no longer be a one shot, so if you haven't read it, I invite you to do it, as well as my other works 💜
> 
> Special dedication to Em! 💜

* * *

She wiped the sweat away with the top of her hand _yet_ _again_ for the dozen times. Her hand was already insufficient, the heat was suffocating and the big beads of sweat streamed down her forehead, her temple, her neck and even in between her breasts at a constant pace.

She put the knife aside, stopping for a few seconds her task of chopping coconuts into perfect slices for the salad, she took a flannel, damped it and wiped the sweat from her face and chest, thus returning to her task at hand, the Christmas Eve dinner.

What kind of Christmas was this? She couldn't help but think. For her, Christmas was cold weather, hot drinks and snow. But instead she had heat, cold lemonades and the beach. She wasn't complaining whatsoever, she barely had a few weeks in that place and everything was wonderful. Her relationship with Sergio grew deeper and deeper each day, and she could no longer imagine life before that island and their not-so-small wooden house in the middle of nature.

However, there was still something that worried her, and that was her daughter, Paula. The first days she had been very excited, for her everything was quite an adventure, but as the days went by, that enthusiasm turned into constant questions about their return to Madrid, about her father and about Sergio.

Unlike the first time they met, this time Paula was very hesitant of him, she was shy and quiet in his presence, and Sergio, who had never lived with children and who had only met her on a brief occasion, found it difficult to approach her, show interest without being too invasive or intimidating, he was aware that the little one was out of her comfort zone. 

The whole situation was new for everyone, no one knew how to handle it and they navigated it the best they could. That’s why Raquel decided that Christmas Eve could be the perfect time for Sergio and her daughter to finally bond. Now she just wondered, where the hell was her man.

He had left that morning without telling her where he was going, only that it would take a few hours, and up until now, well past noon, he was still not home. Raquel was a bit irritated, she needed some things to finish the Christmas dinner and she needed Sergio to take her and guide her around the village, she still had a hard time finding her way.

"Mommy." Little Paula came in and sat on a stool by the kitchen island in front of her mother, watching carefully what she was doing,

“ _¡Dime, cariño!_ ” Raquel replied, giving her a quick look and a smile and returning her attention to the knife and the coconut on the chopping board.

"Do you think _Papá Noel_ will be able to find our new home this year?"

Then it hit her, _¡Joder!_ She hadn't bought _any_ gifts yet, for anyone, not even her own daughter. That made her feel so terribly guilty, she had been so wrapped up in the whirlwind of events in recent weeks that she didn’t remember to buy gifts for her daughter, her mother and Sergio.

For God’s sake! She was cooking dinner on Christmas Eve, how come she didn't remember? She was a terrible mother.

"Why do you say that, _mi amor_?!" She chuckled, "of course _Papá Noel_ will find our new home!”

"But how will he do it?"

"Well, he knows where all the children in the world are."

"But we don't even have a Christmas tree, where will I put my letter?"

"I... we can put it outside, in the bushes outside!" She tried to cheer up a downcast Paula. "We can put up some lights, and we'll put your letter to _Papá Noel_ there, what do you say?!

Paula didn't say anything, she shrugged and jumped down from the stool, leaving the kitchen into her bedroom.

Raquel felt lost, where the hell was Sergio? She had to go to the village to buy gifts for her daughter and her mother _ASAP_.

As if she had called him with her mind, a sweaty and agitated Sergio entered the house through the front yard, taking off his sandals at the entrance and his hat.

"Where the hell were you?" Raquel complained, "I need you to take me to the villa now!”

"Where are Paula and your mother?" Sergio asked her, looking past her, ignoring his woman’s bad mood.

"What do you want them for?" She got in the way of him entering the house. "I need you to take me to the villa, I forgot like an idiot to buy gifts for Paula and my mother!”

Sergio put his index finger to her lips and gave her a warm smile, “would you relax?! Everything is under control, you have _nothing_ to worry about or take care of. Paula, Mariví, could you come here for a moment, please?!” He shouted.

In a few seconds, Paula and Mariví were in the foyer with Raquel and Sergio.

"What's going on?!" Mariví exclaimed while Paula shyly hugged Raquel's hip.

Sergio peeked into the front garden, the one overlooking the sea, waved his hand and seconds later a group of people entered the house carrying a ridiculously huge natural Christmas tree, almost three meters long, followed by more people carrying boxes.

"Because there is no Christmas without a Christmas tree, isn't there Paula?" Sergio smiled at the little girl who was looking at everything around her with great curiosity and enthusiasm. The same went for Raquel and Mariví, the three women were at a loss for words.

In a few minutes, the men set up the tree and untied the cords around it, letting the leafy branches fall, releasing a delicious scent of fresh pine. It was a beautiful tree, so big, so lush, green, fresh and fragrant.

"Sergio, what’s all this?!” Raquel asked, still in amazement.

"What does it look like?!” He replied, and from one of the boxes he took a smaller plastic box of red glass spheres with gold glitter and knelt on the floor, in front of Paula. "Paula, can you help me decorate the tree?"

The little girl looked up at her mother with a huge smile that illuminated her face and her beautiful hazel eyes. "YES!" She exclaimed excitedly, taking the box from Sergio's hands.

Sergio got up and took Raquel by the waist, bringing her close to him, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. Paula and Mariví shared a mischievous look and a silent giggle.

“And you, you don't have to worry about dinner, they'll bring the banquet in a few hours. Just enjoy this moment." Now Raquel took Sergio's lips on hers, but they were soon interrupted by Paula’s enthusiasm who was inspecting the contents of the boxes with the decorations for the tree.

"You also brought snowflake decorations!" The girl exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! Snowflakes, spheres, little globes, stars, candy canes, and I think there are some nutcrackers and gingerbread men too!” Sergio said joining Paula.

Together, Sergio and Paula began to take out all the plastic boxes with the decorations for the tree and place them on the floor.

Raquel was about to join them to help decorate, when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Leave them." It was all Mariví said, but no more words were needed, Raquel knew what she was referring to, that was _their_ bonding moment.

So free from the commitment to make dinner, Raquel and Mariví each sat in a rocking chair, with a large glass of cold lemonade while they enjoyed watching Sergio and a hyper-excited Paula decorate the Christmas tree.

They both surrounded the tree, placing decorations here and there, Sergio asked Paula what she thought of the decorations and the little girl gave him her opinion and indicated where to place them, they were having a great time. There was none of the hesitation, shyness, and wariness of being around each other.

Raquel looked at them both with a heart so warm and so full of love. Two loves so different yet so intense. She felt that a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she finally saw her daughter and Sergio handling each other with such ease and joy. _This_ was her best Christmas present.

A while later, once all the decorations were finally placed on the tree, Sergio took Paula from under her shoulders and lifted her up to place a big crystal star on the top of the tree. Then the girl ran to connect the lights to the power plug and the beautiful tree was illuminated with golden lights that were reflected in the eyes of the little family. They all laughed, cheered and clapped with happiness.

"Wait!" Paula shrieked, "something is missing!” She ran up to her room and in seconds was back with an envelope in her hands. "My letter to _Papá Noel_! Now I am _sure_ that he will know where to find me!”

"But _Papá Noel_ is a very clever man," Sergio said, "with or without a tree he would’ve known how and where to find you." He smiled at her and winked at Raquel, sitting in a chair next to her, sighing heavily after all the work of decorating a huge Christmas tree.

"Maybe, but I think there are more possibilities with a Christmas tree!” The girl replied.

"Sure there are!” Sergio replied.

Little Paula stood in front of Sergio, looking at him with a shy smile, " _Gracias_ , Sergio!” Then she threw herself into his arms. At first he didn't know how to react, but later, he wrapped his arms around her small body and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

"You have nothing to thank me for." He whispered beaming.

Raquel looked to the other side, hiding the couple of tears that had escaped her eyes and wiped them quickly with her thumbs.

“Oh, wait!" Sergio exclaimed, pulling back from the hug, "I think something important is also missing!” Getting up from the chair, he took one of the boxes that was still closed and on the floor and from there he took out a small machine that simulated a projector. He set up all the parts and plugged it to the power plug. Then he looked at the family with a huge smile. “It's not Christmas without snow either. Well, it's not technically snow, but it gives the vibe."

Then he turned on the machine and in seconds, small lumps of white foam that simulated snow began to fly in the air. The three Murillo women could not contain their astonished expressions, and the smallest one shrieked and jumped under the haze of foam trying to catch it all.

"Oh my God, Sergio!" Raquel laughed, raising her hands in the air also trying to catch the foam.

"Well, well, this is going to be a memorable Christmas!" Mariví pointed smiling.

Sergio hugged Raquel from behind, giving her a kiss on the temple, while they watched Paula and Mariví play with the fake snow.

"Thank you, this is all so beautiful, Sergio."

“I wanted to make our first Christmas together something memorable. And we are just getting started."

Raquel turned in his arms and circled her own arms around his neck, “oh yeah? Are there more surprises?"

"Many more, but all in due time." He answered and kissed her on the lips.

"Sergio, come!" Paula exclaimed, "come play with the snow!"

Sergio joined the little girl although he didn't know what to do exactly, he just stood there, awkwardly. But Paula's joy, laughter, and enthusiasm were so contagious that he couldn't help smiling widely.

Later that night, just as Sergio had said, a group of people arrived with trays and plates full of delicious preparations for a typical Philippine Christmas Eve dinner. At first Paula was a bit picky with the food, but once Raquel encouraged her to taste it she was delighted with each and every one of the dishes.

Although it was a small celebration, only Raquel, Sergio, Paula and Mariví, it was one of the best Christmases for the Murillo women and perhaps Sergio's best Christmas. As a child, he spent many of his Christmases in cold hospital rooms. When at home, the money wasn't enough to make a big dinner, or for presents, and when his parents died it was just him, and on some rare occasions Andrés, but in general, Christmas for him was an ordinary and lonely night, but not anymore.

After the surprise with the Christmas tree and the fake snow, it could be said that the ice had completely melted between Sergio and Paula, she asked to sit next to him at dinner, she showed her approval when she liked some of the food, plus thousands of questions about him.

Soon, the emotions of the day and her belly full of food and desserts took their toll on the smallest of the house and Raquel had to carry her in her arms to her bed, where in a matter of minutes she was asleep peacefully, with a smile playing in her lips. Then, Mariví decided that it was also time for her to go to bed, leaving Sergio and Raquel alone in the living room.

"The dinner was delicious!” Raquel smiled as Sergio handed her a cold beer.

“Very!" Sergio agreed, taking a seat next to her.

"And Paula... I still can't get over her happy little face when she saw the tree and the snow."

“Her bright smile was priceless. But… is she asleep-asleep?" Sergio queried and Raquel frowned, "yes, I mean, she won't wake up until tomorrow, right?”

"Oh, I hope so! I’d say that after all of today’s emotions she will sleep until late tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be by the tree at 7am.”

“Well, in that case,” Sergio rose from his seat, “I think it's time for _Papá Noel_. Come with me!"

Raquel laughed and followed Sergio out of the house, where he had his Jeep parked. Opening the doors, she couldn't help her shocked expression when she saw the interior overflowing with bags and gift boxes.

"What the..." Raquel expressed.

Laughing, but not too loud so as not to wake Paula up, Sergio and Raquel carried all the gifts inside the house, placing them around the tree. If by itself the tree was beautiful, now surrounded by dozens of gifts it was spectacular. Sergio had gone out of his way to give his women the best of Christmas, but it was, at the same time, to give _himself_ the best of Christmas, seeing them smile had filled him with a feeling that until long ago he hadn’t known. A feeling of _family._ A feeling of _belonging_.

And sure, one way or another, the band had become his family for a few months, but they were no longer there, and now and forever, these three women would be his family, he would belong to this beautiful family.

Once everything was settled, neither Raquel nor Sergio felt like going to bed to sleep, so they went out to the front garden and lay down in the hammock, hugging close to each other. The heat had decreased considerably, the fresh breeze, the starry sky and the bright moon made the night something even more special.

"I know I already said it, but thank you, thank you for making this day so special." Raquel said, nuzzling against Sergio's chest.

"I still have a gift for you, I think it is the most special."

"Oh yeah? And do I have to wait until tomorrow to open it?"

“As a matter of fact, no. Actually, it’s something that I had wanted to give you for a few weeks, but didn't know how to do it."

Curiosity invaded Raquel, she got up on her elbow and looked Sergio in the eye, "what is it?"

“Listen to me first, ok? Because I don't know how it will look like if I just gave you the gift."

"You are being very mysterious, Mr. Marquina."

"Wait here." Sergio got up from the hammock and hurried inside the house, when he returned, he had a red envelope in his hands. Raquel couldn't avoid beaming widely.

"More postcards?" She teased.

"Far from it." Sergio answered and sat next to her, handing her the envelope. "Open it, but don't say anything, first let me speak."

“ _Vale_.” Raquel frowned with an amused expression and opened the envelope, inside it was a single 50 euros bill.

"Raquel, I... I don't know how to begin to say this but... I think part of the loot also belongs to you. Without you, without your help we wouldn’t have been able to get out of the hangar on time, thanks to _you_ we managed to escape, there was a moment when the plan fell apart, but thanks to you we managed to get back on track and get out of there with the money, so I think you deserve it.”

“Also, I don't want you to feel financially dependent on me, I know you brought all your savings, but without a job, with your mother and your daughter... you will run out of money at some point, I want you to feel free to be able to go out and buy whatever you want for you and for them without thinking about how much money you still have and without having to turn to me for more, I want you to be financially free, this money is yours, you earned it."

Raquel was speechless, of all the possible Christmas gifts, certainly she didn’t expect this at all. In fact, she hadn’t thought much about her future financial situation, since she had arrived she had barely touched her savings for other things besides new clothes that she bought for herself, Paula and her mother. Sergio was always buying everything necessary for the house, the pantry and refrigerator were always packed with food, the house was already furnished, they had only arrived to settle in.

"So... _Feliz Navidad_?" Sergio smiled nervously when he saw that Raquel wasn’t saying anything and just looked at the bill in her hands attentively.

Seconds later Raquel smiled and looked at him. "I'm very sure that the loot was more than 50 euros, thousands more."

Sergio laughed out loud, “that's just symbolic, I wasn't going to bring you bags full of money. I will show you the place where I have the rest whenever you want."

"I feel so guilty that I don't have a gift for you, but I promise to make it up to you."

"Having you here is worth all the Christmas presents for the rest of my life."

“I can't believe you, I can’t believe everything you've done for me, my daughter and my mother since we arrived. I… I even forgot to buy their gifts and if it hadn't been for you—”

"Raquel, Raquel!" Sergio interrupted her, “don't blame yourself, everything you've experienced in the last year has been quite draining, you lost your job, you almost lost your daughter, you left your home and your country to follow some coordinates, you are adjusting to living in a new house, a new country, you have to think about your mother and your daughter… _cariño_ , I’ve felt you jump in your sleep and murmur things in fear, not only Paula deserved an extra special Christmas.”

Raquel felt a sob build up in her throat, but at the same time she couldn't ignore the word " _cariño_ ", it was the first time Sergio had used it and she was going to take it as a Christmas present too. Not knowing what to say, she took his face and brought him in to kiss him deeply and fervently.

“ _Feliz Navidad, cariño_.” She whispered against his lips, cupping his face with one hand and stroking his hair back with the other.

" _Feliz Navidad, cariño_." Sergio replied, kissing her again with passion. 

Soon they both decided that they _did_ want to bring the rest of the celebration to their bedroom.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! 🥰


End file.
